Mechanical Properties of Unsaturated Polyester Composites Reinforced with Eggshell-Derived CaCO₃ Bio-filler as a Sustainable Material

Ruben Bayu Kristiawan, Kaleb Priyanto, Esa Nur Shohih

Abstract

The increasing demand for sustainable engineering materials has encouraged the development of polymer composites reinforced with bio-based fillers. Eggshell waste, which contains more than 90% biogenic calcium carbonate, represents an abundant and low-cost resource with potential as a reinforcing agent in thermoset composites. In this study, unsaturated polyester resin Bayesian Quantitative Trait Nucleotide (BQTN) 157 was reinforced with eggshell-derived calcium carbonate particles sized 105-149 µm, incorporated at volume fractions of 1-5%. Test specimens were produced using standardized moulds and evaluated for tensile properties in accordance with American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM) D638 and for impact resistance using the Izod in ASTM D4812. The tensile results indicated a reduction in Ultimate Tensile Strength (UTS) of 6.7%, from 20.85 MPa for neat resin to 19.46 MPa at 5% filler, while the elastic modulus increased by 9.7%, from 1.44 GPa to 1.58 GPa. The impact resistance improved with filler addition, reaching a maximum of 91.75 J/m at a 3% filler concentration, representing a 15.7% increase, before slightly declining at higher concentrations. These findings demonstrate that eggshell-derived calcium carbonate is a promising sustainable bio-filler, with 3% volume identified as the optimum composition for practical composite applications.

Full Text:

PDF

References

  1. S. Sunardi, D. Ariawan, E. Surojo, A. R. Prabowo, H. I. Akbar, B. Cao, and H. Carvalho, “Assessment of eggshell-based material as a green-composite filler: Project milestones and future potential as an engineering material,” J. Mech. Behav. Mater., vol. 32, no. 1, article no. 20220269, 2023.

  2. R. B. Kristiawan, B. Rusdyanto, F. Imaduddin, and D. Ariawan, “Glass powder additive on recycled polypropylene filaments: A sustainable material in 3D printing,” Polymers, vol. 14, no. 1, article no. 5, 2021.

  3. A. Çetin, “Utilizing almond shell filler to improve strength and sustainability of jute fiber composites,” Polym. Compos., vol. 46, no. 1, pp. 450–470, 2025.

  4. K. Skórczewska, K. Lewandowski, S. Wilczewski, J. Szulc, and P. Rakowska, “Utilization of ground eggshell as a biofiller of plasticized PVC-based materials fabricated using melt blending,” Polymers, vol. 17, no. 4, article no. 434, 2025.

  5. A. M. Sharaf, E. Syala, A. A. Ezzat, S. F. A. Ali, and E. El-Rafey, “Natural fiber reinforced unsaturated polyester resin filled with bio-based calcium carbonate: Preparation and examination,” Fibers Polym., vol. 23, no. 5, pp. 1366–1377, 2022.

  6. A. Sivakumar, S. Srividhya, R. Prakash, and S. Padma, “Properties of biocomposites from waste eggshell as fillers,” Glob. NEST J., vol. 25, no. 8, pp. 109–115, 2023.

  7. A. N. Jassim and W. H. Jassim, “Preparation of polyester/micro eggshell fillers composite as natural surface coating,” Ibn Al-Haitham J. Pure Appl. Sci., vol. 36, no. 1, pp. 88–99, 2023.

  8. C. Kuila, A. Maji, U. Phadikar, P. Kumar, N. Murmu, and T. Kuila, “Bio-inspired basalt fiber reinforced epoxy laminates with wasted eggshell derived CaCO₃ for improved thermal and mechanical properties,” Polym. Compos., vol. 45, no. 1, pp. 215–226, 2023.

  9. S. Kowshik, S. Sharma, S. Rao, M. Shettar, and P. Hiremath, “Mechanical properties of post-cured eggshell-filled glass-fibre-reinforced polymer composites,” J. Compos. Sci., vol. 7, no. 2, article no. 49, 2023.

  10. S. Owuamanam and D. Cree, “Progress of bio-calcium carbonate waste eggshell and seashell fillers in polymer composites: A review,” J. Compos. Sci., vol. 4, no. 2, article no. 70, 2020.

  11. O. Bani, A. Agarwal, R. Heinrich, and R. Richard, “Banana stem and chicken eggshells as a filler of polyester composites for particleboard application,” Discov. Mater., vol. 5, article no. 110, 2025.

  12. D. R. K. Chandrappa and M. S. S. Kamath, “The eggshell as a filler in composite materials: A review,” J. Mech. Energy Eng., vol. 4, no. 4, pp. 335–340, 2021.

  13. I. Iliyasu, H. Yahaya, M. Stephen, and M. Abubakar, “Effect of filler content and particle sizes on the mechanical and end-use properties of eggshell powder-filled epoxy polymer composite,” Phys. Access, vol. 3, no. 2, pp. 68–77, 2023.

  14. N. Kaur and K. Singh, “Decompositional and chemical reaction kinetics study of eggshell powder waste for value-added materials,” J. Therm. Anal. Calorim., vol. 148, no. 13, pp. 6451–6463, 2023.

  15. W. B. Aribia, A. Trigui, N. K. Alshammari, and M. Abdelmoleh, “Development of phase change eco-composite materials from eggshell waste,” Green Chem. Lett. Rev., vol. 17, no. 1, pp. 1–20, 2024.

  16. M. G. Rinaudo, S. E. Collins, and M. R. Morales, “Eggshell waste valorization into CaO/CaCO₃ solid base catalysts,” Eng. Proc., vol. 67, no. 1, article no. 36, 2024.

  17. C. Kıstak, C. Yanen, and E. Aydoğmuş, “Advanced sustainable epoxy composites from biogenic fillers: Mechanical and thermal characterization of seashell-reinforced composites,” Appl. Sci., vol. 15, no. 15, article no. 8498, 2025.

  18. S. Owuamanam, M. Soleimani, and D. E. Cree, “Fabrication and characterization of bio-epoxy eggshell composites,” Appl. Mech., vol. 2, no. 4, pp. 694–713, 2021.

  19. Y. Abouelnour, N. Rakauskas, G. Naquila, and N. Gupta, “Tensile testing data of additive manufactured ASTM D638 standard specimens with embedded internal geometrical features,” Sci. Data, vol. 11, article no. 506, 2024.

  20. ASTM D4812, Test Method for Unnotched Cantilever Beam Impact Resistance of Plastics, Pennsylvania: ASTM International, 2019.

  21. I. O. B. Al-Fahad, A. D. Hasan, B. M. Faisal, and H. K. Sharaf, “Identification of regularities in the behavior of a glass fiber-reinforced polyester composite of the impact test based on ASTM D256 standard,” East. Eur. J. Enterp. Technol., vol. 4, no. 7, article no. 124, 2023.

  22. C. O. Blattmann and S. E. Pratsinis, “Nanoparticle filler content and shape in polymer nanocomposites,” KONA Powder Part. J., vol. 36, pp. 3–32, 2019.

  23. Y. E. Sucu and M. D. Doğancı, “The effect of calcite on the mechanical, morphological and thermal properties of virgin and recycled thermoplastic copolyester elastomer composites,” J. Vinyl Addit. Technol., vol. 31, no. 1, pp. 211–223, 2025.

  24. C. Fong, S. Sugiman, D. Chin, and H. Ahmad, “Fracture energy and mechanical properties of toughened epoxy resin with eggshell powder,” J. Adhes. Sci. Technol., vol. 38, no. 12, pp. 2065–2084, 2024.

  25. E. Mahdi and A. Dean, “The effect of filler content on the tensile behavior of polypropylene/cotton fiber and poly(vinyl chloride)/cotton fiber composites,” Materials, vol. 13, no. 3, article no. 753, 2020.

  26. D. Cree and M. Soleimani, “Bio-based white eggshell as a value-added filler in poly(lactic acid) composites,” J. Compos. Sci., vol. 7, no. 7, article no. 278, 2023.

  27. S. Ray, S. Acharya, P. K. Barik, and S. Das, “Study on mechanical properties of polymer composites filled with nano eggshell powder,” Arch. Curr. Res. Int., vol. 24, no. 5, pp. 360–369, 2024.

  28. M. Ramesh, L. N. Rajeshkumar, N. Srinivasan, D. V. Kumar, and D. Balaji, “Influence of filler material on properties of fiber-reinforced polymer composites: A review,” E-Polymers, vol. 22, no. 1, pp. 898–916, 2022.

  29. B. R. Abhiram and D. Ghosh, “Influence of nanofiller agglomeration on fracture properties of polymer nanocomposite: Insights from atomistic simulation,” Eng. Fract. Mech., vol. 290, article no. 109503, 2023.

  30. G. Manickavasaham, P. Balaguru, and N. Annamalai, “Effect of varying filler volume fractions on mechanical properties of sunflower seed husk-reinforced epoxy composite,” J. Harbin Eng. Univ., vol. 44, no. 8, article no. 1814, 2023.

DOI: https://doi.org/10.20961/mekanika.v24i2.104039

Refbacks

  • There are currently no refbacks.